NEWS: The Jar Family Curate New Hartlepool Music Festival This September

The first We Are Family Festival features Smoove and Turrell, Hyde & Beast, Kingsley Chapman, The Lake Poets and many more top local acts

By Eugenie Johnson
on Wednesday, June 24th, 2015

If you’re a Hartlepool native or are a regular visitor to the town then you’ll probably know that Jackson’s Landing by the marina has been disused for over a decade. The venue can hold over 5,000 people, but the space has been neglected and hasn’t seen a soul in it for all this time. Hartlepool natives and barn-storming folksters The Jar Family are now trying to breathe some much-needed life into the building, by hosting a one day festival at the venue this September. We Are Family Festival will be bringing together a host of local acts to play at Jackson’s Landing, across two stages.

The first-ever We Are Family boasts an incredibly impressive line up which celebrates the best local talent, which is already making it one of the most unmissable one-day events this year. On the Main Stage, fun loving funk supergroup Smoove and Turrellwill be headlining, backed by the festival’s organisers themselves, The Jar Family. Fresh from the release of their latest album Decency, Frankie & The Heartstringswill also be playing the stage, bringing some of their sunshine indie to Hartlepool. Parastatic, Boy Jumps Ship, Shieldsand Mousesround off an incredibly strong line up on the Main Stage.

The Marina Stage has an equally impressive line up, so strong in fact that it could be the bill for the main stage at any other event. It’s headlined by Mackem retro rockers Hyde & Beast, who’ll be bringing tunes from their latest EP to the event, supported by fellow Sunderland native Martin Longstaff, aka The Lake Poets. Teesside icon Kingsley Chapmanwill also be making an appearance, alongside indie rockers Para Alta, Kosoti, Street Party in Soho, Shoot the Poetand Cape Cub. With some special guests yet to be announced,

The festival will be working alongside local organisations, including Hartlepool Borough Council and Cameron’s Brewery, in the hope that a vibrant and innovative event will help to transform the marina for a day.

The Jar Family’s Max Bianco said: “We wanted to create something that really celebrated the vast musical talent in the north east and to acknowledge the support the local population has given us… and give them something to smile about!” His bandmate Dali added: “We’re always blown aay that there’s a Poolie in the crowd at every gig, wherever we are in the country. We really want the town to get behind this so that we can do one every year!”

The event is still subject to planning and licensing permissions being granted by Hartlepool Council, but with such a passionate team behind the event and an amazing line up already revealed, how could they say no?